Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 4 February this year, Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Uzbekistan Leonid Marynich.

The sides discussed the current state and prospects for further expansion of the Uzbek-Belarusian trade, economic, investment and industrial cooperation.

Positive dynamics in mutual trade was noted. Thus, by the end of 2022, trade between the two countries increased by 71% and exceeded US$530 million. At the same time, the export of Uzbek products to Belarus doubled. The parties expressed their readiness to make joint efforts to bring trade figures up to US$1 billion in the coming years.

During the dialogue, the prospects for deepening investment cooperation and expanding industrial cooperation were also discussed. It was noted that the number of enterprises with the participation of Belarusian capital in Uzbekistan reached 181 units, including 77 joint ventures and 104 with 100% foreign investment. In 2022 alone, 86 new enterprises were created. In turn, more than a hundred enterprises with Uzbek investments operate on the territory of Belarus. Readiness was expressed to provide comprehensive assistance to the implementation of new joint projects of industrial cooperation

Uzbek-Belarusian interregional ties are successfully developing. During the visit of the delegation of the Vitebsk region of Belarus to Kashkadarya region in October 2022, important agreements were reached in the field of economy, industry, education and tourism. The importance of continuing work on developing cooperation between the regions through the creation of joint trade and manufacturing enterprises was emphasized.

A number of important proposals were analyzed for the implementation of joint projects in the textile, leather and footwear, electrical engineering, furniture industries and in the production of modern building materials.

Following the meeting, the parties expressed mutual commitment to further expand cooperation within the discussed areas of cooperation between the two countries.